Last year was a golden-run for western music. Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, and Coldplay reeled in millions of fans to stadiums across the world as they embarked on their respective tours. The Grammys marked breakthroughs for artists like Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, Doechii, and RAYE: veterans of the industry who’d been awaiting the fruits of their labor. Songs including “Not Like Us,” “Birds of a Feather,” and “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” scaled Billboard Top 100. This was the first Grammys where I saw several of my favorite songs among the nominees. 

But ever since February, this cohort of eminent artists seems to have gone back to the drawing board, and in the aftermath of a truly spectacular year for music, we’ve been left with an exceedingly quiet summer of 2025.

Across the internet, grievances over our “missing song of the summer” resound. Despite the rapid climb of songs like “The Ordinary” or “back to friends,” the aforementioned complaints center on the plummeting quality of top music since 2024. Perhaps the drawing of comparison between an exceptional last year and the present puts currently mainstream tracks in an especially negative light. 

Some historically gifted artists seem caught up in “beef” instead of recording in the studio this year. One of the main feuds this summer transpired between Ethel Cain and Lana Del Rey—two artists with significant crossover in their fanbase. As fans discovered early this August, the two have apparently been at odds for years now. In the iteration that fans know it, however, the conflict began on August 14 when Del Rey unveiled a new “diss track” on her Instagram, name-dropping in the lyric, “Ethel Cain hated my Instagram post, reenacting my Chicago pose.” Shortly after, she accused Cain of disturbing stalker-like behavior and comments about her appearance. Cain responded over Instagram stories with the note, “update: lana del rey has blocked ethel cain on instagram,” and deactivated her account the same day. 

In other news, a rift also appears to have emerged between hip-hop and R&B artists Frank Ocean and Tyler the Creator, who unfollowed each other on Instagram in July. Ocean, who has been in a decade-long hiatus from releasing new music, was publicly known to have a tight-knit friendship and “creative bond” with Tyler, so this development sent shockwaves through their online fandoms. 

Of course, this would not be an article about music this summer without mention of the movie KPop Demon Hunters—Netflix’s hit animated production this year. No, you can’t escape it, even in the Jabberwock. By now, it’d be a surprise if someone hasn’t heard of Huntr/x (the demon hunters in question) or songs like “Golden,” “Soda Pop,” and “Your Idol.” Of all the songs released this year, these songs have collectively claimed the most streams—at least on Spotify. Many music lovers are upset that KPop Demon Hunters is a key contender for the Grammys 2025, however. While the movie isn’t indisputably bad, anything that achieves fame as quickly as it did is bound to divide an audience. Some argue that Grammys should be awarded to “real artists.” Others consider Huntr/x and the Saja Boys (the antagonist boy-group) to be AI-generated. 

Aside from KPop Demon Hunters, the overall consensus is that new music made “no noise” this summer. And this claim stands despite the cascade of new albums this August alone, or the rapid ascent of artists like sombr, KATSEYE, and Role Model since May. Numerous releases by bigger artists like Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, Conan Gray, Dominic Fike, Deftones, and Blood Orange do not seem to have generated pervasive enthusiasm either. Maybe these releases have caused an overload of new music, though, serving as an obstacle for any singular song to rise. Ultimately, the root issue doesn’t seem to be that artists aren’t releasing good, refreshing music—they just aren’t charting. 

If we shift our frame of reference, however, the lack of definitively mainstream music also presents an opportunity to diversify our musical palettes. It’s not so often that we get a year when one particular song isn’t being shoved down our throats on social media or the radio. So, to capitalize on this time, explore new artists, delve deeper into the discographies of those already beloved, or visit the past and discover what your parents enjoyed as they were growing up.

All that said, it is only September, and while summer may be winding to a close, four months is plenty of time for a novel, sensational song of 2025 to emerge. 

Information retrieved from Spotify, Forbes, Reddit, Pink News, and Instagram.